gaza. but how long will the truce last? black friday's out, and thursday's the new black apparently. retailers are getting a jump on the holiday shopping season by opening their doors on thanksgiving day. are the door busting deals worth skipping your holiday? and a new york tradition, the macy's thanksgiving day parade kicks off with new balloons making their debut. we begin in the middle east, where the fragile truce between israel and gaza hamas rulers appears to be holding 19 hours after it began. the truce was brokered by egypt and ended eight days of fighting. the big question is, will it last. we have reporters throughout the region for you. martin fletcher is in tel aviv, and jim is in cairo. but we begin in gaza. this truce was marked by a huge celebration there in gaza today. tell us about it. >> that's true. in fact, tens of thousands of palestinians showed up in gaza city. and actually in cities all across the gaza strip to hear

from various leaders of all of the palestinian factions. the biggest one was by far and large in gaza city. some leaders we haven't heard in the past eight days, many in hiding, came out today to address the thousands of people who gathered. they're portraying this and describing this as a victory. they say for the first time hamas has not only defeated israel, but has also shown the world what they're about against a back drop of changes taking place all across the arab world. they also sent a message to the united states saying that they should, the united states should support the palestinian people and not the occupation. hamas was going to remain defiant in the face of israel's aggression on its people. alex? >> okay. thank you very much for the latest from gaza. we go from there to israel. nbc's martin fletcher is standing by in tel aviv for us. benjamin netanyahu spoke to the media a couple of hours ago. what did he say, martin?

>> he said that they were celebrating in gaz a. he said here israel delivered what he called a massive blow against hamas and gaza, destroying much of the military infrastructure, destroying much of their long-range rockets. he said to the israeli people that he believed the truce is lasting for israel at this time. and those are the critical words, at this time. israel is looking with great skepticism at the cease-fire, waiting to see whether rockets resume, if not now, in weeks, months, and hopefully another round will not occur. but that's everybody's expectation. i want to say to what ayman was saying about the declaration of victory in gaza. the path for victory for hamas is very, very low, and the path for victory for israel is very, very high. israel has much higher demands, a complete stop to all rockets firing. >> interesting in the balance you point out there.

let me ask you quickly, martin, with regard to getting those rockets, i mean, this iron dome, that did a heck of a job intercepting the rockets that were launched, didn't it? >> it really did. rafael industries who made it, it's actually an israeli built weapon with american money. they say they knocked out to 90% of the rockets fired in the urban centers. it calculates where the rocket is going to land and it just ignores it. if it's going to hit somebody, it knocks it out. 54 rockets did get through. they knocked out 420. and landed harmless, most landed harmlessly. a tremendous success. but it's a defensive weapon, it's a band-aid. it doesn't solve any problems. it just defends the israeli lives, which is, of course, a big deal right there. >> absolutely. let's go to egypt, everyone, for the country's new president winning heavy praise for helping

broker the truce between israel and hamas. jim, this was an all-important test of u.s.-egyptians relations following the arab spring. what's the grade? >> well, the grade is good. better than good. you have to be cautious, of course. you're talking about the middle east. but i think that it's remarkable, alex, really, to see the kind of praise that president morsi is receiving. even in those defiant speeches that ayman was referring to, hamas leaders, islamic jihad leaders, benjamin netanyahu's comments last night, secretary clinton's comments last night, president obama's praise, everybody has good things to say about morsi, who has now emerged not only as a can-do politician, but a power broker in the region. for instance, when the truce deal needed to be closed and clinton came to cairo, she spent hours with morsi and with his

foreign minister, mohammed kamul, finding the compromise that israel and hamas could live with. mainly stop the hostilities today and negotiate the other demands later. alex? >> jim, thank you very much for that live report from cairo with the latest on the brokering of the truce. joining me now, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. for special affairs, stewart is a special assistant to the president and is currently president and ceo of the nonpartisan meridian international center in washington. welcome, stewart, thank you for being here on thanksgiving. >> good morning. >> you were also partly raised in the middle east. your father served in the foreign service. you've seen firsthand from a young age that cease-fires have a history of collapsing. do you feel this one is different? >> well, no, actually, they're very fragile in the middle east. these cycles can break down at any moment. but in this case, what you have is the emergence of a consensus that, you know, on the israeli

side, the cost of a ground invasion was not something that they sought. and also, on the palestinian side, that, you know, israel has such a strong military superiority, that looking at a way to kind of get the talks restarted is really the outcome that people look for here. but in the middle east, the memories are long. of course, this is a cycle that's been going on for half a century. so i think they look at it with skepticism. but the only thing we can do really is to work on getting a process started again. >> yeah. well, you take it step by step. and in just a few hours, we're supposed to move into a new phase of the cease-fire agreement for israel to ease its blockade of gaza. israel is insisting the blockade is necessary, because they want to prevent weapons from transporting into gaza. >> a lot of this has to do with the rockets getting into the gaza strip from egypt up through sudan and controlling these access points, these tunnels. i think the israelis made a very

concerted effort during this last eight-day campaign to go after those caches of rockets and rocket-launching facilities. as far as the border is concerned, i'm sure there's a lot of international pressure to get more humanitarian assistance in. i can see there would be part of some deal where you would have, you know, under international supervision more access for the civilian population, which again, is about 1.7 million in gaza. a densely populated area. but much more of a tighter role for the security forces from egypt, and from the international community, making sure that these rockets don't get in. >> okay. stewart holiday, thanks for weighing in. have a good one. >> thank you. happy thanksgiving. >> and to you. lawmakers have packed up and left washington with the thanksgiving holiday. they have their work cut out for them when they return to town next week. already there are signs negotiations are off to a bumpy start. house speaker john boehner wrote

an op-ed yesterday calling for the president's health care law to be part of the fiscal talks. the white house told the "huffington post" the president opposes that. joining me now from washington, nbc white house correspondent kristen welker and neil irwin. welcome to both of you. happy holiday. >> happy holidays, alex. >> kristen, politico said the negotiations are off to a rough start. what do you see as the likelihood of a deal before the end of the year? >> alex, i think they are off to a relatively rough start. president obama expected to invite congressional leaders back to the white house next week after the holiday, but it seems at this point aides are trying to hammer out the beginnings of the deal. republicans seem to be digging in their heels on the issue of taxes, saying they don't want to see the bush era tax cuts expire for the wealthiest americans. of course, that is something the democrats have been adamant about. so they're stuck on this old issue of taxes.

and also stuck on the issue of entitlements. we had harry reid come out and basically say he wasn't open to reforming especially social security. so there's a big question mark about how they're going to move forward. remember, these are sort of their opening bids. presumably there is room for some sort of movement on either side. in terms of getting a deal done by the first of the year, i think there's a lot of pressure on both sides to try to get something done here. you remember the debt ceiling debate. after that sort of knockdown dragout fight, congress had its lowest approval ratings in history. they know they need to get something done. remember, if they don't get something done before the first of the year, it could have serious consequences on the economy. >> i want to ask you both to weigh in on this question. kristen, you do the political angle and neil you give me the nuts and bolts. yesterday john boehner wrote an op-ed calling for the health care law to be part of the negotiations, he wrote in part

the president's health care law at the massive, expensive, unworkable program when the national debt exceeds the size of our country's entire economy. we can't afford it, and can't afford to leave it intact. is john boehner right? >> no. look, it's a law that does a lot of things with the health care system. it's not predominantly a fiscal issue, in that that when the government does anything, it affects taxes. if you're the president you have no incentive to allow the health care law to be on the table in these negotiations. maybe on the edges there are a few spending programs you're willing to negotiate over. but in terms of the health insurance mandate and exchanges, all the things in this complicated law that passed two years ago, you're really going to draw the line and say, we're not going to reopen that debate. we won the election, so sorry, john. that said, there are specific programs in there that might be part of the spending negotiations that take place. >> you know, kristen,

politically speaking, doesn't this add another wrinkle to an already difficult negotiation process ahead? >> i think it absolutely does. i think to some extent speaker boehner might be sending a message to republicans in his conference, making the point that, look, just because the president won the election we're not going to roll over on all of the issues that we care about. it's hard to see he has a whole lot of leverage on this issue. you heard speaker boehner tone down his rhetoric after the supreme court ruled it was in fact constitutional. and now president obama has won reelection. the president, the white house, democrats on the hill are saying this issue is a nonstarter. it's hard to see where he finds leverage on this issue. unless he tries to go for some of the smaller issues like medicaid spending. but i think this is going to be a wrinkle and will certainly prolong some of these negotiations. >> hey, speaking of wrinkles, let me ask you about representative jesse jackson jr.

who resigned yesterday. he was treated at the mayo clinic for several months, and the investigation into alleged misuse of campaign funds. >> it's not surprising, he's been ill for a couple months now, a few months. he's had these ethics hanging over him. when he came into congress, he seemed like a rising star in the party. everyone knows his father. it has not worked out that way. in a way, it's unsurprising, but it is a moment of kind of lost potential. >> okay. neil irwin and kristen welker, thanks to you both. appreciate it. up next, we're live at the macy's thanks giving day parade where this year includes a special tribute. plus getting ready for your holiday getaway. we're tracking the best deals to escape to. we want to know what you're thankful for this thanksgiving. [ tylenol bottle ] nyquil what are you doing? [ nyquil bottle ] just reading your label. wait...you relieve nasal congestion?

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well, it wouldn't be thanksgiving day without it. just a short time ago the 86th annual macy's day parade got under way here in new york. they're lining the parade route which begins on manhattan's west side just off of central park. it will travel right toward the macy's department store at herald square. nbc's jay gray is right near the parade starting point on the upper west side. so i don't have to ask you what's going on. there's a lot happening out there. tell us about it. >> reporter: good morning, alex. happy thanksgiving to you and everybody at home. take a look behind me. you can see all getting under way here. another group of clowns getting ready to make their way into the parade route, as it started in earnest. you can see the balloons up

behind me. the nets finally off. that is, of course, the panda getting ready to get out onto the parade route. and we will see more than 900 clowns in all different kinds of get-ups here. all the fans, all the floats, more than 40 floats are part of the parade this year. and one very special float to honor the first responders to superstorm sandy. we also know that some of the survivors from that storm will be front and center, right along the front line, to get a firsthand look at the parade. maybe get their mind what's been going on the last couple of weeks here. everyone who is part of the parade is wearing a red cross pin to remember those lost. and again, the work that continues as far as recovery is concerned. a big part of that work is getting back to normal. and nothing more normal, alex, than this parade on thanksgiving morning. back to you. >> jay gray, the plum assignment of the day. thank you, jay. after a day's worth of watching the parades and football on tv, a long meal with

your family and friends around the dinner table, you might be feeling the need to get away. joining me to discuss holiday travel deals is aaa's heather hunter. good morning, happy thanksgiving. >> good morning. happy thanksgiving. >> let's take a look first at aaa's bread and butter. so many are on the roads this weekend. i have to bring up video that will show people the 405 freeway in los angeles. it looks like a christmas scene that you don't want to see. can you see the red and white lights stretching for miles? yikes. you don't want to be in that. so that, and other forecasts, what's it going to look like going into december with road travel? >> well, for thanksgiving, aaa was projecting that 39 million americans would be on the roads. a total of 43.6 million people traveling this holiday. and that is up this year. but also, we've seen a steady increase since 2008, when thanksgiving travel fell by more than 25%. so the roads and skies are going

to be very busy this holiday. >> sometimes the travel drop has to do with gas prices, and the prices of rental cars. and some of those have really been impacted severely by sandy. but where does that stand right now? >> right now, aaa is reporting a national gas price average of $3.43 a gallon. the good news is, that's about 22 cents down from one month ago. however, gas prices are still historically high. and we're finding that travelers are putting a greater emphasis on value. looking for hotels that offer free breakfast or free wi-fi, any way to stretch their travel budget. >> yeah, that makes good sense. what about if you're deciding, i've just got to get away and you want to take to the skies but you haven't made those plans yet. can you find deals still? >> there are still deals available for the holiday season. however, last-minute deals aren't as vast as they were several years ago. so you really want to start looking now. some good ways to save money are

considered bundling a package with your airfare, car rental and hotel, that can offer some savings. also look at cities that have many hotels available. such as orlando, las vegas, even new york we have some deals available on aaa.com. >> okay. good advice. safe travels to you this holiday season. heather hunter from aaa, thank you. >> thank you. coming up -- >> happy thanksgiving. >> oh, thank you. coming up, we have the black friday creep. is it worth skipping your holiday to cash in on the door busting deals? country superstar kenny chesney for the big halftime show in 3-d. ♪ it's so important to make someone happy ♪ when you give a child a toy, it has to work. ♪ make just one someone happy and when it's a toys for tots child, well, what could be more important? so this year, every hasbro toy donated to toys for tots

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a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death.

this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. remember when the official start of the holiday season used to be black friday? it is being trumped this year by black thursday, otherwise known as thanksgiving, because apparently shoppers cannot wait

until midnight tonight. i know you and i have debated whether or not you and i would be in a stores, and that's a big no. but there are those out shopping today. what are you seeing? >> reporter: there's talk it's quite a popular thing with a lot of people this time of year. i'm not so sure there are a lot of employees of a number of these stores, because there are going to be protests at some of them. but it's a great day here in chicago. a lot of people are on the streets early this morning, not to go shopping, but to go to thanksgiving day parade here before they go home to have their feast. and i guess it's starting to look like a lot of people will then be heading back out onto the streets, going over to the malls, the big box stores to try to get their hands on that flat screen tv or whatever it is that they just have to have tonight at 8:00, alex. >> so we know about the big major retailers, the walmarts, and the toys "r" us and others who are going to be opening up. but are entire malls opening up? do you think they've been pressured into doing that? >> i guess it depends on where

you live. i don't know any mall per se by name that is opening up. as you just mentioned, the big box stores are really making a push. my "chicago tribune" this morning weighed as much as a brick with regards to all of the ads from the stores that are opening up tonight in there. you know, retail is a big deal in this country. and a lot of people are going to shop till they drop. and i guess what we're finding out now is, it doesn't matter what day it is. they're going to be out there. >> yeah. well, i'm sure they will. we'll have the video to prove it tomorrow morning. and we'll show everybody. kevin tibbles, have a great thanksgiving day. >> you, too, alex. as the zealous shoppers are hitting the retailers tonight, they'll give the economy a much-needed boost. holiday sales should grow by 4% bringing in $586 billion -- yeah, billion with a "b" -- dollars this year. morgan brennan from forbes. happy thanksgiving.

>> happy thanksgiving. >> how badly does the economy need this boost right now? >> i guess that's the $586 billion question. yes, of course, our economy has been starting to slow down. we saw 2% growth in the third quarter. going back to president bush after 2001 when he told americans to go out and do more shopping, that, actually there's something to that concept. the reason is because gdp is -- consumer spending is about 70% of gdp. >> only problem with spending, though, a lot of people put things on their credit cards, and that is up by about a third, in the third quarter it went up about 5%. there's good and bad to that. ultimately does it show signs of a robust economy? >> i would say yes, in the sense that more americans are expected to go out and spend this

weekend, this holiday in general. $586 billion is projected, as you mentioned before. the americans that will go out and spend are expected to spend $750 on average. it's a little higher than last year. so i think they're doing that because they're feeling a little more confident. they're also doing that because they feel like they can get good deals. i think that's pretty hopeful. that being said, we still have issues looming on this fiscal cliff. we're starting to see consumer confidence weighing a little bit. i think hurricane sandy had something to do with that. >> yeah. >> this could go either way this season. >> you combine the holiday spending with the fiscal cliff. is there a chance that if we get this $586 billion or whatever is expected to come in, that it has a lasting effect on the economy? >> you know, i think -- i would like to say yes. and given holiday -- looking at last year, we saw about 600,000 jobs added for the holiday. about that number is expected this year as well. jobs are good for the economy.

spending is good for the economy. but whether we can maintain that, whether a deal can be reached on that cliff remains to be seen. we could see of the u.s. fall into recession. hopefully that won't be the case. hopefully, you know, a deal will be reached and we can move forward. >> that's probably the most pressing issue right now. morgan, thank you for bringing us up to date on the retail angle. coming up, health care hang-ups, as major ceos try to circumvent the president's health care law. and who will run in 2016. contenders are already jockeying for position. we want to know what you're thankful for this thanksgiving, so send us a tweet at #why i'm thankful. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do.

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zales is the diamond store. oh, let me guess --ou see this? more washington gridlock. no, it's worse -- look, our taxes are about to go up. not the taxes on our dividends though, right? that's a big part of our retirement. oh, no, it's dividends, too. the rate on our dividends would more than double. but we depend on our dividends to help pay our bills. we worked hard to save. well, the president and congress have got to work together to stop this dividend tax hike. before it's too late. the elections just 16 days old, but the republican party is already looking to 2016. according to politico, more than

two dozen republicans are already thinking about running for president. and joining me now from washington, democratic pollster margie, and republican strategist joe watkins. it's never too early, right, guys? let's get talking about this. joe, is the gop already making plans for 2016? at this point, if so, who would you say would be the party's best hope? >> the party has to start looking to 2016. we've suffered two losses now in '08 and again in '12. we've got to look at expanding the base. the republican party knows that you can't win going forward without women, without latinos, without young people, without african-americans. so the party has to broaden its base. not necessarily change its belief system, but has to broaden its base and have a bigger cap that has a bigger plank. marco rubio, jeb bush, possibly

governor-elect mike pence, bobby jindal. a lot of names. chris christie, because he's soaring in the polls right now. but folks who help broaden that tent and relate to independents, as well as republicans and democrats. >> you know what's a notable admission is you didn't mention paul ryan the his tenure as the vice presidential candidate, does that put him out there as the front-runner, that tent you describe, does he not fit as well under that tent that you need to see with the gop going forward? >> i think paul ryan and rick santorum and a number of other candidates who certainly are going to be viable players going forward are also names to watch. but i think that the party standard bearer will likely be somebody who's able to reach a broad coalition going forward. more than just conservatives. and the republican base. whoever it is has to reach a lot more folks. >> yeah. so margie, chris christie, always being talked about for this. does his embrace of the president during hurricane

sandy, do you think that hurts or helps him, in tells of both getting a nomination, and then being elected? because that can be two different things. >> i'm a new jersey native. and my stepfather has the same sort of new jersey attitude that chris christie has. i think that attitude, sometimes can be hurtful for chris christie in the case of hurricane sandy, it was really helpful to show he was going to say it like it is. which is, i'm here to help the people in new jersey, rather than play politics. i don't think it cost mitt romney the election at all. i think it's foolish for republicans to banish him simply for being nonpartisan during a hurricane. there's nothing more nonpartisan than disaster relief. and so it would be a mistake for republicans to have that purity test. it's exactly the wrong lesson fo for them to learn from this election, saying you want to reach out to minorities and women, it's actually to have the policies to reach out to a wide variety of voters. if p ares are going to banish

people just for the optics of not being partisan enough, then they're really going to have a lot of problems. >> do you think if chris christie were able to get the nomination for the primary process, do you think he would be a tough candidate to beat in the general election? do you think people appreciate his refreshing attitude, shall we say? >> i think the refreshing attitude is refreshing at times, and other times it's a little course. when he yells at reporters or press members, ip think that's a little coarse for leaders. that's a style point. i think ultimately when it comes to policies, it remains to see what his policies will be on a national stage. don't forget, he was a solid, reliable surrogate for romney and ryan whose policies were really quite extreme. >> and joe, last question to you. what do you think the gop needs to do to ensure that they don't get beat next time? >> they have to champion, as margie said, policies that work for more than just the base for the party.

they have to help cobble together an immigration policy that helps people move forward, and find the path to citizenship. they've got to work a lot harder to bring new people into the party. >> got to work on policy and personality there. joe watkins, margie romero, thanks for joining us. it survived a supreme court ruling and election, but how will obama's health care law survive. denny's and applebee's are under fire for taking a stance against the plan threatening to do everything from hike customer tabs and fire employees because they claim it's too expensive. america's biggest retailer, walmart, is also facing backlash, as some employees gear up to protest a spike in health care premiums by refusing to work on black friday. joining me now from d.c. to talk more about this is "washington post" white house reporter, david and staff writer for the hill. niles stanij. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> there were pretty ludicrous

examples of this kind of behavior on a small scale. there's a business owner in georgia that says he fired employees because the president won. a small business owner in vegas firing 114 workers for the very same reason. why would any company or business take a stance to punish workers for re-electing the president? i'll give that to you, nile. >> i'm not sure they're really specifically trying to punish workers than advertise their own political beliefs. in a lot of these cases there are people who are -- you know, they have really serious problems with president obama. they dislike him being elected. but i think it's rather dangerous for them from a publicity point of view. i think there's been some confusion about the difference between franchise holders and ceos. as i understand it, the actual ceo of denny's came out and rather slapped down a franchise holder for his comments, saying that they don't represent the views of the chain as a whole. so there's, you know, corporate dangers in making any of these kind of statements. >> you have to wonder about the

wisdom of mixing business and politics like that. but in walmart's case, workers could end up paying 8% to 36% more for medical coverage. the company has 1.4 million workers. some of them now say they're going to ditch coverage just to avoid paying out of pocket. let's talk about the long-term repercussions of this kind of thinking, david. how do you see that playing out? >> it's interesting, and for president obama, with a victory at the polls in his reelection, they put to rest that the republicans would try to overturn this law. i think republicans are saying we're going to go inside the law, try to sort of limit the scope of the law. that's their new strategy. i think they'll try to use that in the fiscal cliff negotiations to put the health care provisions and try to water them down. the business owners who are against it are going to use this leverage saying it's costly for us. we'll pass it on to employees. to troy to sort to sway public opinion. i think the obama administration

on the other hand will do their own campaign to get the word out and for those supporters and uninsured who support this, here's how you sort of lobby for it. i think it's going to be in the next battlefront. >> but if you think this is sort of an anti-working class vendetta, david, what are the likelihoods of these job actions being successful in stopping this? >> i don't know they're going to be able to stop it, but i think that it's a really complicated issue. we had an interesting story the other day who said the vast majority of people eligible for the health care reforms don't understand it. this is a problem that i think the obama administration faces. they'll have to go out and make a better opportunity in terms of publicizing what these changes mean, exactly how it affects individuals, and how they sign up for it. >> okay. final word to you, niail. do you think the work stoppage affects things or not? >> i'm afraid i didn't hear the question. >> in terms of those picketing and protesting all this, do you

think that will have long-term change and effect? >> not in terms of the health care law. i think the health care law will be in congress at this point. i think as david pointed out, that the republicans are trying to maneuver toward making more congressional action now that full repeal seems to be off the table. obviously the supreme court backed the law. and also the benefits of the health care reform will go into effect at even -- more so in the coming year. i think that will help from the obama administration's perspective to make the sglas all right. niall, david, thank you very much. happy thanksgiving. >> you, too, alex. kenny chesney with a sneak peek on the way he's spending the holiday. performing, of course. first, struggling to come up with your holiday gift list? up next we'll break down which toys are going to be the hot ticket items this year. you can prevent gas with beano meltaways,

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well, you might call today, this would be the calm before the storm. but that is because tomorrow is black friday. that means it's the start of the holiday shopping season. and if you have little ones on your list, we'll help you out with a little treat. joining me is jim silver, founder and editor in chief of time to play mag.com. who brought along some of the hottest toy gifts of the season. glad to have him here. tell us about which ones you think are hot and what ages. >> these are already hot. for boys ages 8 and up, this is from nerf. this shoots 75 feet. it's safe. you have a safety trigger. then you fire away and just hold it. these will shoot up to 75 feet. that's right. shooting everybody in the studio. look at them hide for cover. >> he just ran. that's funny. >> this holds 144 foam darts. you have different size cartridges and you can just move them along. i'm not going to fire at you.

>> the executive producer wants that. as long as she doesn't point it my way. what about that? those are popular. >> that's right. this is the leap pad. this is an ipad for children. it has activities, games, educational tools. what's so important about this is the content. it's educational content for kids. often parents say, do i really need this? i have an ipad. the difference about this is you can drop this. a child can drop it. and you don't have to worry about it breaking. if you want to get something for a 3-year-old -- >> you want to keep something that's -- >> and you want context that's educational, that they enjoy playing with. >> good stuff there. what about these dolls? we've got ninjas. >> ninja turtles, right. the teenage ninja turtles are back from nickelodeon, a new show. the show is hot. you have all types of ninja toys, role playing and the toys are flying off the shelves. you have figures that make sounds.

>> got it. >> so leonardo, michelangelo, the whole crew is back. >> is that a little furby? >> furby was hot in 1998. came back this year. it's for $55. it's much better than the original furby. >> it talks and still makes -- >> you'll learn an entire new language. the hottest doll on the market, these were introduced two years ago from mattel. these are the new ones this year. they're all daughters of famous monste monsters. you talk about a brand that mattel will sell $375 million worth of these dolls this year. >> that's kind of fun. but i love thomas the tank engine. >> thomas is still the number one boys property. this is a radio control engine. simple for kids to use. a simple forward, turn around, and a little steam noise. what's different about this, this engine will actually

produce cool steam. for the first time ever, steam comes out of thomas. >> do you have to fill it up with water? >> you fill it up with water. it has a piece on the bottom, you just fill it up and watch thomas run. >> okay. what people, when they see ideas like this, and say, i've got to do exactly what jim has told me to get, do you worry about the inventories, are they going to be able to keep up with demand? >> on these particular items we're already seeing shortages, furby, doc mcstuffing, she's a surprise hit of this year. >> okay. well, jim silver, thank you very much. and for the people who want to do black friday shopping, it might be a good idea to get these. get them now. happy thanksgiving. up next, everyone, the other turkey day tradition, kenny chesney previews tonight's halftime show between the cowboys and redskins. go -- i'm not going to say. is it better to be the early bird...or the earliest bird? on black friday, it doesn't matter,

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it is a sure sign that the holidays are here with the familiar red kettle on the sidewalks and many are encouraging donations to the salvation army. last year they raised nearly $159 million for the charity. the campaign kicks off during the halftime show during the match-up of the dallas cowboys and the washington redskins with a little bit of help from country music star kenny chesney. earlier i spoke with kenny, jerry jones and the head of the salvation army, commissioner william roberts. well, good morning all you guys. it is so good to see you. and, of course, all the fans are coming out to see you, kenny, so give us a preview of what to see at halftime. what surprises do you have in store? >> i don't know how many surprises we'll have. we are going to play music. i'm excited about the first halftime show, this is the first i've done in my life. it is for the best cause i could ever do it for. being a part of the dallas

cowboys and the salvation army and the red kettle campaign is an unbelievably great tradition in our country. and for them to ask me to be a part of it is a big thrill. and the idea of us kicking off the holiday season and being able to help a lot of people through music is something i have been looking really forward to and honored to do. >> that's wonderful to hear. jerry, this is the 16th year the cowboys have partnered with the salvation army. you have raised over $1.5 billion. first up, why did you choose to team up with the salvation army? >> i want to give charlotte anderson a lot of credit for teaming the cowboy organization up with the salvation army. we respect them so much. 25,000 volunteers out here manning these red kettles. and when that dollar goes in the red kettle, it stays right in the community where it is to help people that are unemployed, pay their rent, to put a roof

over their head or to feed them. and they are such a dedicated organization. but the business in me knows when you put a quarter or a dollar in the red kettle, it goes the longest of any place that you can give the money. >> commissioner roberts, we all know how tough things are more so many americans, including those affected by hurricane sandy. how is this show going to impact those americans? >> well, it will certainly raise the visibility of the salvation army and the red shield, red kettle campaign. people will become aware that they can now expect to see red kettles on street corners across this country. last year the american public contributed $147 million to those red kettles. a lot of dollar bills and a lot of quarters put in the kettles across the country which serve people in local communities, serve those in need, fed the hungry, gave shelter, provided clothing. and the salvation army continues

to do that and is privileged and honored to partner with the dallas cowboys and now kenny chesney to raise the awareness of the american public to the need of people and how to help through the salvation army. >> kenny, you have had this incredible career, what are you hoping to establish though with this project? is there a message that you personally want to get out to your fans? >> well, of course, yeah. i think that anything that i can do to help to be here to -- i want to personally challenge my fans to give to the salvation army and to give to the red kettle campaign. because where i grew up in tennessee, i would go shopping with my grandmother and mother. every year we would go and see the people out there with the red kettles and always put a quarter in. i think that people that come to our shows, i'm personally asking them to give because it is really important that somebody out there that wouldn't

necessarily have a great holiday season, maybe they'll get to have one this year. >> everyone will have a great time at the game. it is thanksgiving, a wonderful day to celebrate. we applaud the efforts of all three of you. thank you for spending time with us here on msnbc. happy thanksgiving. straight ahead, we are live on the ground in the middle east where a fragile cease-fire is holding for now and thousands of workers are protesting to enjoy the thanksgiving holiday. we are coming back at the top of the hour, hope you are, too. into their work,

their name on the door, and their heart into their community. small business saturday is a day to show our support. a day to shop at stores owned by our friends and neighbors. and do our part for the businesses that do so much for us. on november 24th, let's get out and shop small. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula. right now on msnbc, thankful for peace in gaza where a fragile cease-fire still holds, but will it still last? the season of deep discounts and door-busting deals is kicking off to the earliest start ever as thousands of employees threaten to strike to work on what was supposed to be their family holiday. and the macy's thanksgiving

parade underway in new york city where organizers hope the event will help to lift the spirits of those struggling in the wake of hurricane sandy. a very good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. thank you for joining us for a special thanksgiving edition of "msnbc live." we are glad you are with us. we'll talk about the mideast cease-fire holding some 20 hours after ending the violence between israel and hamas. is it a step toward permanent solution though? we have reporters throughout the region to weigh in on this. martin fletcher is in tel aviv. we begin with ima in gaza. i know there were celebrations earlier, are they continuing? >> reporter: the celebrations have quieted down a little bit with people trying to get back to their normal life if you can use that term in a place like gaza where nothing that is normal here, but we spent the day out with people today as they went back to their homes. some displaced over the course of the last eight days of fighting. they have tried to open